1. Technical Field
This invention generally relates to a boat plug system and more particularly to a boat plug key system that also functions as a boat plug storing device, a reminder for installing and removing the boat plug, and a tool for installing and removing the boat plug.
2. State of the Art
Boats typically have drain holes located below the water line at the lowest portion of the hull to permit drainage of bilge water when the boat is removed from the water for transport on land or for dry storage. The drain hole is closed with a boat plug for plugging the hole while the boat operates on the water. Additionally, the plug is removed to drain the excess water within the boat.
The boat plug is a critical piece of boat equipment. Launching a boat without the boat plug installed will result in a costly error of sinking the boat. Conversely, if the boat plug is left installed in the drain hole when taken out of the water, the boat itself may suffer damage to the interior of the boat. For example, if a boat is left uncovered and it rains and the plug is still installed, then the water would not drain possibly causing damage to electrical equipment, promoting mildew and rot in the boat or the boats contents, and even causing structural damage should the water freeze. In addition to the problems of not installing or not removing the boat plug, typical boat plugs are often misplaced or stored in an inconvenient location on the boat, simply forgotten when launching the boat, and open to pranks or vandalism since the plug may be readily installed or removed by anyone.
A conventional solution to the problem of misplacing or inconveniently storing the boat plug is to attach the plug to an interior portion of the boat in a location near the drain hole. Attachment of the boat plug is conventionally accomplished by using a form of a tether, wherein one end of the tether is attached to the boat and an opposing end of the tether is attached to the boat plug. While the boat plug may be readily available, such a device does not serve as a reminder to install or remove the boat plug. Additionally, conventional boat plugs do not prevent a person from installing or removing the plug so as to vandalize the boat, and boat plugs with a type of securing device suffer from the same storing problems as do conventional boat plugs.
Accordingly, what is needed is a devise that solves the problems of reminding the boat operator to install and remove the boat plug and providing the means to do so, storing the plug in a convenient location, and preventing vandalism of the boat by making installation or removal of the plug available only to the boat operator.